Game

The Monday After: The Big Ten needs to put Ohio State in its conference title game for its own good

By Jaime E. Love 1 month ago

Ohio State is a playoff team. It has been the entire season, even if an entire season in the Big Ten hasn’t felt like an entire season. While many people needed to see Ohio State smother Michigan State without several key starters and coaches to be convinced, I’ve felt this way for a while.

I don’t need to see Ohio State play a minimum of five games before I can decide if it’s better than other College Football Playoff contenders.

I’ve also been convinced that while plenty have debated about how many games the Buckeyes need to play this season to be selected for the playoff, that it’s never been a legitimate problem. As long as Ohio State didn’t have its season shut down by COVID-19, I’ve felt it will be one of the four teams chosen so long as it doesn’t lose one of the games it does play.

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Jimmy Butler hits game-winner, Bam stuffs Tatum and Heat beats Celtics in Game 1 of ECF

By Jaime E. Love 4 months ago

Jimmy Butler did it again.

Bam Adebayo did it even better.

In the final seconds of overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Miami Heat’s two All-Stars lifted the Heat to a 117-114 win against the Boston Celtics. Butler put Miami ahead with an and-one with 12 seconds left, then Adebayo blocked Jayson Tatum on the other end to seal the Heat’s victory in Lake Buena Vista

With 12 seconds left and the Miami trailing by a point, Butler muscled his way to the rim from the top of the key against Tatum and finished through contact for an and-one to put the Heat ahead 115-114. After trailing by 14 points in the fourth quarter, Miami — somehow — was ahead with the clock ticking away.

On the other end, Adebayo sealed the win. Tatum went back at Butler and beat him off the dribble. The All-Star

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Kyle Lowry rallies Raptors to 2OT win, forces Game 7 vs. Celtics

By Jaime E. Love 4 months ago

For the first time since Kawhi Leonard’s bouncing miracle last year, the Toronto Raptors will play a Game 7. To get there, it took a game just as wild as that win over the Philadelphia 76ers so many months ago.

Trading haymaker after haymaker in two overtimes, the Raptors outlasted the Boston Celtics in Game 6 for a classic 125-122 win.

Throwing many of the Raptors’ punches was, who else, Kyle Lowry, who led all scorers with 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting (6-of-10 from deep), plus eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and just one turnover. His final points came on a clutch fadeaway to give the Raptors a four-point lead with just a few seconds remaining.

Supporting Lowry in overtime was Norman Powell, whose free throws sealed the game for the Raptors. Powell finished with 23 points.

The Celtics seemed headed for advancement for much of the first half,

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Blazers’ Damian Lillard exits Game 2 with dislocated finger

By Jaime E. Love 5 months ago

Los Angeles Lakers might have got even worse for the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, as star Damian Lillard headed to the locker room with a finger injury.” data-reactid=”16″A blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers might have got even worse for the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, as star Damian Lillard headed to the locker room with a finger injury.

Lillard appeared to suffer the injury when his hand banged against the shoe of Anthony Davis while reaching for the ball late in the third quarter. He eventually returned to the bench with his fingers taped up.

later announced that Lillard had dislocated his left index finger and would not return, with X-rays coming back negative. He finished the game with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting in a miserable game for the Blazers.” data-reactid=”24″The Blazers later announced that Lillard had dislocated his left index finger and would

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